The Train Ride
by chichirichick
Summary: Ed talks to a weird lady, and ends up thinking about the only woman in his life. WinryxEd, EdxWinry


This one's kinda different. I tried to do Ed's thoughts, but not sure if it ended up the way I wanted. Whatever. I'd like to thank the weird lady on the bus that started a random conversation with me for inspiring me to write this thing. I love weird people.

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I couldn't help but notice the old lady staring at me on the train. It wasn't so much creepy as unnerving. I couldn't bring myself to talk to her, though, my mind being a little too preoccupied with the thoughts of returning from another world and seeing my family again. _Family._

Almost as if on cue, the woman smiled at me. "On a trip, young man?"

"I'm going home." A smile came easily to my face, those words filling my heart.

"Your wife must have missed you a great deal."

"Ah," I knew I was turning the brightest red ever, and stuttered for a reply. "No, uh, I'm not married. No, not yet. I mean… Uh…"

"With the look on your face, I'd say you're going home to something close enough."

_You know, before she opened her mouth, I was kinda wishing Pinako could be a little more like this lady… but, damn._ "I guess." I turned my eyes to the window, now no longer thinking about the other world, my dad, my brother… but about her… _Damn that old lady_.

I guess you could say it all started with Barry the Chopper. I wish I could say it was something much more romantic, say an evening under the stars, but it ended up being a meeting with an insane serial killer. When I saw her chained to that wall, freezing, scared, so sure her death was coming at any minute… I don't know what happened. Something clicked in my head. The idea of any form of pain coming her way practically ripped my heart from my chest.

Sure, you could say I've been hurting her since the dawn of time. I always pulled her pigtails as a kid, teased her into a puddle of tears. And later, when I went on this wonderful crusade… I guess you could say I hurt her every minute of every day. I left her behind, alone, without a phone call or a letter. Every time I would come back it would be a short trip, and the only real time I would spend with her would be to tinker with my automail. Yeah, I know, I'm an idiot.

But Barry the Chopper… Man, I have to say, that guy was an ass, an ass that wasn't even deserving of death. But I can thank him for one thing, smacking me to my senses about her. I remember not even being able to motivate myself to move from her hospital bed. Sure, there was nothing seriously wrong with her, but as a precautionary measure, they kept her in that stupid military hospital in Central. I sat right next to her bed, my hand clutching hers, watching her sleep, breath. There's nothing more beautiful and painful at the same time as watching someone you love struggle.

Well, after that, the lovely feeling of adolescent discomfort set in. Hey, I'm a boy. You have to give me a break. Not only did I realize then that she was the only woman that I had ever, and probably ever would, have romantic feelings for, but it also snapped into my head that she was a _girl_. She had long legs, a perfectly flat stomach (which is always hard to believe after you see how much she eats), and _breasts_. So it was pretty hard to keep both my hormones and my feelings in check.

So I continued attempting to ignore her, giving the excuse that my life was a little too busy with chasing homunculi and ditching the army. Sadly for me, every time I went home it was damn hard to keep myself from following her around like a puppy-dog. I was dying to be next to her, to get a whiff of her scent when she sat too close. But I was good at keeping my distance; maybe it was genetics passed down from that wonderful dad of mine.

I separated myself from my thoughts for a moment, seeing that old lady still staring me down. "It's complicated… but I guess you're right. I just hope she's still waiting for me."

The old lady gave me a gracious smile. "Well, you couldn't have been that long."

Yeah, just three years. No big deal. It's not like she's gorgeous and could probably get any man she wanted to. Nope. And what about her? I'd always just considered that I was in love with her, but I don't think she's ever given me any clue that she felt the same. I mean, sure, we've exchanged glances, sometimes our eyes lingering too long, and it's not as if we hadn't accidentally brushed against each other and turned red. But did that mean love?

"I was away for a while; military work." Military work being my code-name for State Alchemist. Yeah, that was a great step up in the world. Not to mention my mentor happened to be the man who killed her parents. He should have been one of the guys I was wiping out, making them pay for what they did, but instead I followed his orders like a dog. Yeah, so, I'm not true sure she'd actually be able to love me.

I moved my attention back the old lady, but now she was drifting off into space, probably thinking about some son, brother, father lost in some stupid military campaign. I almost wished the lady would talk again, so maybe I wouldn't keep thinking about her. All the stupid things I've done. But mostly that smile. Her damn beautiful smile.

Its times like this that make me remember the stupid argument that Al and I used to have, practically ever day. We were always fighting over who would marry her and she would sit back, laughing at us so hard until tears came out of her eyes. She'd always try to promise to marry the both of us, making the argument worse because then we'd fight over who would marry her _first_. I was the oldest, so in the end, I'd always win, even though Al always used the fact that I was too short to marry her. That would usually get him a smack on the head, at the least.

I scooted a little in the seat, the bulge in my pocket digging into my leg. Not that kind of bulge, you pervert. It was a box, a stupid box with a stupid ring inside that I would probably never even get the nerve to take out of my pocket. I know what you're thinking, "Where did I get the money?" Luckily, I still have friends at Central, or, better to say "people who want me to grow up" in Central. It's funny that the first place I went when I came back to this world was there. Roy just about had a heart-attack, but Riza seemed to expect that I would return eventually.

Riza was the one to tell me what I'd been thinking all along. You know, she may seem like a cold-hearted bitch, but she's got a soft-spot for romance, I swear. One day, Roy will stop being a colossal ass and get down on one knee for her, or at least he better, because, like her, Riza wasn't exactly beaten with the ugly-stick. It felt stupid, having Riza tote me around downtown, helping me pick the stupid box and the thing inside it. But I guess she talked me into it, as much as I needed to be talked into it. Damnit, I can feel my stomach twisting just thinking about it.

But I gotta say, I came this far, so maybe I will actually have the balls to take it to the end. Or I'll cower like a dog with my tail between my legs. I still got time.

The train stopped… I'm only one stop away. Damnit, Damnit, Damnit. It's getting late. I should probably just wait until tomorrow. Or just forget it. Damnit. She'll probably be asleep. And I _do not_ want to wake her, especially since I think that means my first greeting will be a wrench to the head. Not exactly what I'm looking forward to. I should just stop here, stay over, clear my head, but I can't move from the seat.

The old lady stood up, gathering her things. Again, I wanted to say something but there was no point. But, just like a movie (they had those in the other world, pretty awesome), she had to open her mouth again. "If you don't do it, that box will burn a hole in your pocket."

I damn near fell out of my seat. Who the hell was this lady? "Thanks for the advice," I managed to squeak out as she hobbled off the train. I'm pretty sure I had a little bit of a heart-attack. How did she know? Was I that obvious? I'll never be able to walk through that door if I'm that damn see-through. Shit.

In half an hour, I was there, my throat dry and my stomach quivering. It was already way past dark, especially since there wasn't even a moon in the sky. But it's not like I could ever forget the way home from the train station. I started out in a trudge, wanting to move as slow as possible, but after ten steps I broke out into a full run, not even sure why I was doing it. But I couldn't stop. It took minutes, but it felt like hours. There were no lights on.

Once I reached the steps, I stopped, leaning over to catch my breath and to keep myself from puking. As soon as my breathing quieted down from its original roar, I realized there were sounds coming from the kitchen. I wanted to check the window, but decided I'd end up looking like a stalker, and if it was her in the kitchen, I'd get an even worse beating if she caught me. I knocked.

The sounds inside stopped for a moment, probably wondering if my knocking was figment of someone's imagination, but finally I heard the locks unlocking and the doorknob turning slowly. And there she stood, her hair lopsided from sleep, nightgown wrinkled. Her eyes shot open wide and so did her mouth, seemingly at a loss for words.

At least she still remembers me. "Hey," I whispered hoarsely.

"Ed… are you… you're real?" Her hands shot out and she grasped my sleeves, the tears starting to gather in the corner of her eyes.

"Yeah, in the flesh."

"Edward!" She let go of my sleeves and flung her arms around me.

"Hey, take it easy. You're going to knock me over." I pulled her away from me slowly, taking a look at her. She might be disheveled, but she was still beautiful as ever. "What, you couldn't look nice when I show up?"

She sniffled and hardly smiled. "Well, maybe if you told me when you were coming home, you jerk, I wouldn't be a mess."

"You're always a mess." I reached out and touched the side of her face, something I never thought I'd do.

The shock was spread clear across her face, but she recovered, batting my hand away. "You're the same old jerk."

"And you're the same beautiful, perfect Winry." Yeah, there was that shock again. But this time I didn't see it for long, because I leaned in quickly, planting my lips firmly against hers.


End file.
